More Pride and Prejudice
by living in dreamland
Summary: Modern P&P with major changes in the Bennet family.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

At nineteen, Genevieve Miller had it all. She was thin and beautiful with dark brown eyes and deep red hair that went down to her waist. She was in her last year of college, thanks to a combination of genius, focus, and the best tutors money could buy. Of course, she was rich. Her father owned a huge, successful company. And as her father's favorite, she always got what she wanted when she wanted it. But instead of being spoiled, conceited, and despised, she was just the opposite. She knew the value of a dollar, worked hard, and was the nicest person anyone could meet. No one who knew her could say a bad thing about her.

After this description, one might wonder why she was at a roadside diner in the middle of nowhere trying not to cry and failing miserably. It had all started a week ago.

"_Why don't you want your mother to meet me?" her boyfriend Ben had asked. She couldn't tell him. If he knew…_

"_Is it because I'm not a trust fund kid like you? You don't want people to know you're dating someone studying to be a mechanic?"_

"_No!" She loved him and his lifestyle. How could he think otherwise? And how did he find out…?_

The truth was that she had a trust fund worth millions of dollars, which she would have access to when she turned twenty-one. But she was also a successful investor and got a huge allowance. But she had never told him about her money, nor did she hint at it. They had met while volunteering at a nearby soup kitchen, talked for hours afterward, and the subject had never come up. As time went on, it got harder to tell him. All he knew about her family was that his friend Mark was her brother. She wasn't a high-class snob, but her mother was the worst. She was also very loud and outspoken. When she saw something she didn't like, she made sure everyone knew about it. She didn't want to expose Ben to her criticism lest she scare him off. If only she had said that. After their fight, Ben had stormed off. He wouldn't take her calls or return her emails. Then a few days later, her mother had called.

"_His name is David Collins. He will be here tomorrow and we will make all the necessary arrangements then." Her mother was obsessed with getting her married to a rich man. Now she had done it. She actually found someone who had agreed to an arranged marriage._

"_Mom, I told you. I don't want to get married to someone I don't know." Plus, I already have a boyfriend. Or had. Whatever._

"_Nonsense. He is a wonderful man and you would be lucky to have him." She just wouldn't let up. "Genevieve, I will not take no for an answer. If you do not do this, you will be cut off entirely." She would also be cut off if she ever married Ben, but of course that wouldn't stop her. But now, it seemed that that could never be, and she figured she might as well be rich, if she couldn't be happy._

"_Fine."_

Three days later, she was in a dress shop with her best friend and roommate, Susan, trying on wedding dresses. After trying on the one her mother had chosen, one that made her look like a fairy tale princess, she sat down and started crying hysterically.

"_I can't do this. I just can't. David Collins is a pompous, self-righteous creep, and the thought of being stuck with him makes me physically sick. I have to get out of here."_

Gen was normally calm and rational, but breaking up with her boyfriend and being pushed into an arranged marriage was too much. An hour later, she had her train pass, a change of clothes, some money, and her laptop, and she was on a train heading far, far away. Five hours later, she found herself at Jack's Diner. She couldn't call anyone. Susan was probably working. Ben wouldn't pick up. Her mother would never understand. Her father might want to help, but he was hesitant to undermine his wife. Her older brother, Mark, couldn't do much either.

Hundreds of miles away, Ben was miserable as well. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to call her. Maybe he had misunderstood. But she had known her mother was in town for a week and never said a thing. He never would have known if he hadn't heard her leave a message on her answering machine. Maybe…

Suddenly there was a banging on his door. When he opened it, he saw Susan and Mark, looking anxious. _Well this can't be good_. In the next half-hour, they filled him in on what had happened. After leaving the dress shop, Susan had gone to work, and Gen had gone back to the apartment, quickly packed, and left a brief note. Susan found it when she came home a few hours later and called Mark. They also explained why Gen hadn't told him about her family.

"Do you have any idea where she's gone?" Mark asked.

Ben thought back to a few weeks ago. They had been at her apartment. She had made dinner and they watched a movie. She said something about traveling over vacation. Then he knew. She had seen a photo of a rustic-looking bed and breakfast in a magazine and thought about going there. Soon, he was on the train going after her, but not before he went out and bought an engagement ring.

That night, apologies and a proposal were made and accepted, and three weeks later, in early November, the night had arrived. Gen's parents had a grand ball (not a dance, not a party, but a _ball_) to celebrate her engagement. Susan was invited and brought Ben as her "date" so no one asked questions. When the clock struck nine, Gen, Ben, Susan, and Mark quietly slipped out and went to the church, where they had a small but beautiful wedding. Gen's father had been informed, and after being assured of the young man's love for his daughter, made the couple a wedding gift of one million dollars.


	2. Welcome to Longbourn

**Welcome to Longbourn**

About twenty years later, Benjamin and Genevieve Bennet were still happily married. After college, they had moved to the small town of Longbourn and soon had two daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. They must have inherited their mother's intelligence and determination, because at eighteen and nineteen years old, respectively, they had just finished their junior year of college. The Bennets also recently adopted Abigail, the baby girl who had been left on their doorstep. Mark Miller was a CEO in his father's company, and a widower with two little girls, ten-year-old Mary and eight-year-old Lydia. Susan owned a small café where Elizabeth and Jane worked, making deliveries, taking orders, cooking, baking, and cleaning.

One morning in early June, Genevieve Bennet was sitting in the café drinking coffee and filling up on neighborhood gossip when Ben came in.

"Ben, have you heard? We're getting new neighbors. Word has it, two rich young men from the city are moving in to Netherfield House next door."

It was a hot, cloudy day in early June when Charles Bingley and William Darcy came to Longbourn. At twenty-three, both were CEOs at a large company based in New York City. After working practically nonstop for a year, they decided to take a break. They had rented Netherfield House and after three hours of driving, both were eager to get there. Upon entering the town, they saw a farm and two girls working in the front yard. Suddenly it started to rain and they ran, laughing, until they reached the nearby community center. Out of curiosity, Charles followed them, trying not to look like a stalker, while Will went ahead to the house. Once inside the community center, Charles heard the woman at the desk ask if the girls would be at the neighborhood party. They replied that they would, and quickly left.

By the time Charles arrived at the house, the rain had stopped. His next-door neighbor came and introduced himself as Benjamin Bennet. While he helped him unload his car, they talked a bit, and he told him he was a mechanic/plumber/all around handyman.

"So call if you need anything. My wife is in charge of the welcoming committee. You like apple pie right?" He and his friend were invited to the party, which was being held in the Bennets' expansive backyard. When the party started at six o'clock, Will told Charles to go ahead while he finished up some work. Charles saw his co-worker Mark talking to the Bennets and said hello. He mentioned that Will would join them soon when suddenly the two girls from before ran by.

"Hi Mom, Dad, Uncle Mark, glad you could make it," they yelled quickly and ran inside to change.

Mark laughed and said, "Do-it-all syndrome must run in the family." He explained that they had been working on several projects since starting their summer break. Charles listened intently, growing more and more eager to meet them. After they were introduced, Elizabeth found some excuse to leave, and Jane offered to introduce him to the neighbors. They talked and mingled with everyone there, and when the music came on, he asked her to dance. Meanwhile, Will had arrived, and unlike his friend, seemed content to stand by a tree, scowling slightly. It wasn't until Jane went to help her mother bring out more food an hour later that Charles finally noticed him.

"Come on, Will," Charles said. "Have some fun. Talk to a pretty girl and ask her to dance."

"Why? You know I'm dating your sister." _Unfortunately._

"So? That doesn't mean you can't have some fun."_ What can you possibly see in her?_

"Besides, the only girl here even remotely pretty is the one you've been talking to all night."

"Her name is Jane. She's amazing. You know, her sister Elizabeth is over there. She's nice too. And they look so much alike; I asked if they were twins."

"_Her?_ You've got to be kidding. What is she, sixteen? And she looks like a hippie." It was true. All the Bennet women looked slightly eccentric that evening, with long hair, no makeup, and long, billowy skirts and dresses they dyed and sewed themselves.

"Fine. Have it your way then." And he walked away. He would have been more persistent if he hadn't just fallen head over heels in love with Jane Bennet.

As Charles walked away, Elizabeth walked by, laughing. _Uh oh. Did she hear that? _For the rest of the night, Will found himself watching her as she talked with her friends and danced with several boys._ Stop it. You have a _girlfriend_. And she's too young. Do you want to get arrested or something?_

Needless to say, he couldn't stop. The truth was, she _was_ pretty. Beautiful, even. Elizabeth had inherited her mother's dark red hair and her father's bright green eyes. She was about five foot six and thin, but not so much that she looked anorexic. Her dress was various shades of red with long sleeves and a skirt that almost touched the ground. Looking over to her sister Jane, Will realized they _did _look almost like twins, except Jane had blonde hair and blue eyes and a blue dress, and she was much quieter, wrapped up in conversation with Charles. He would have given that more thought if he wasn't so wrapped up in Elizabeth.

**A short chapter this time. Hope you enjoy. Caroline will be in the next one. Please review!**


	3. A Friend in Need

**A Friend in Need**

_Knock, knock. _At two a.m., someone was knocking on the Bennets' door. Gen got out of bed and moved to the window. _Susan? At two a.m.? This can't be good._ She raced to the door.

"Good news, bad news."

"What's the bad news?"

"My apartment burned down. Can I spend the night?"

"Of course."_ She's being strangely calm._ "So what's the good news?"

"You remember David Collins? Well, we met a few months ago and started talking. He's a firefighter now. He was there and well…he sort of…askedmetomarryhim."_ Please don't freak out._

"What?! I mean, uh, what did you say?" _I'm freaking out._

"I said I'd think about it."_ Now I'm thinking about it._

"Oh."_ Have you completely lost your mind? He's such a creep!_

"Look, he's a nice guy, we have some things in common, and he has a steady job. What other choice do I have?" _I'm desperate._

"Alright, look, it's way too early. Let's get some sleep and talk some more in the morning."_ Did you come from a broken home? Did your parents not hug you enough? Were you previously in an abusive relationship? Because your standards are _way_ too low._

Gen went back to bed but couldn't sleep. She lay awake for four hours before waking her husband and explaining the situation. Then, rather than let her best friend make the biggest mistake of her life, Gen convinced her to move into the Bennets' house, and at breakfast, she had an intervention to talk her desperate friend out of accepting her creepy ex-fiancé's proposal. By the time she left for work, Susan was relatively relaxed and thinking clearly.

Later that day, Mark came over again with his daughters, who had been invited to stay for a few weeks. Mary and Lydia were two very different girls. Most of the time, no one would ever guess they were sisters. Mary was a mouse. She was very quiet and rarely spoke, but when she did speak, her voice usually rose to a squeak. She made a point of blending into the crowd, so her appearance was completely nondescript. She wore the right clothes and did her hair the right way and wore a bit of makeup. Because she was so successful in staying under the radar, hardly anyone noticed that she was, in fact, very accomplished. Her grades were nearly perfect, she played the piano and the flute, she spoke three languages fluently, and she was a star soccer player.

Lydia, at eight years old, was the exact opposite. To the embarrassment of her sister, and sometimes her father, she always found a way to stand out. More concerned with her popularity than her grades, she was on the verge of failing and was constantly getting in trouble for disturbing the class. As her grandmother's favorite, she was completely spoiled and developed a serious attitude. Of course her father tried to fix things, but as a CEO, he was hardly ever home. His efforts only created tension and he was thrilled when his sister offered to let both girls stay for the summer. He thought that being away from the city and having their TV, phone, and internet use seriously limited would work wonders. Little did he know what else would soon come of it.


	4. Caroline vs Elizabeth

**Hope this answers some of your questions.**

**Caroline vs. Elizabeth**

Caroline Bingley and her sister Louisa arrived in Longbourn around noon. Both used to living the high life in New York City, Los Angeles, and Paris, they were not thrilled that their brother and Caroline's boyfriend had moved to the middle of nowhere for any length of time. Therefore, they felt it their responsibility to come and try to talk them out of it. And of course, Caroline didn't need an excuse to be with Will, who she was sure would soon ask her to marry him. They had been dating for over two years and were photographed going to movie premiers, fine restaurants, and nightclubs together.

Ostentatiously dressed in the latest fashions and driving around town in a showy silver convertible, Caroline and Louisa attracted many stares. Tired and hungry (although neither would ever admit it), they stopped at a small café where they first met the Bennets. They looked scornfully at the loud group sitting at a table near the door. A mother and father, two teenage girls, and a baby girl. All laughing and calling out. Louisa was appalled at their manners. _Absolutely deplorable. _And the two girls were wearing _aprons. Waitresses_. _Ugh._ Caroline was in complete agreement. Their shock, when learning that the Bennets would be their neighbors, and later that their brother was in love with Jane Bennet, was understandable. Furthermore, their brother announced that Mrs. Bennet had called earlier and invited them to another party.

Now, one might wonder why Will, or any man in his right mind for that matter, would date Caroline. No, he had not completely lost his mind. First, let it be known that Caroline and Louisa in no way resembled the ugly stepsisters in _Cinderella_. They were not ugly or awkward or excessively flattering, and they never criticized or made fun of people until they were alone. They were amazing actresses and, when they wanted to, they could act perfectly pleasant and polite. It didn't hurt that they looked like models, with their size two designer clothes, flawless skin, and perfectly styled strawberry blond hair. Will wasn't shallow or stupid. He just never really had a chance to see Caroline for who she was.

Will and Charles had been best friends since high school, while Caroline and Louisa were living in Europe with their mother. Caroline and Will first met at a highly publicized charity auction in New York. Will was, of course, a business major in his junior year of college, and on his way to success in the company that had been in his family for generations, and Caroline was studying fashion. Long story short, they met, they talked, a photographer from a famous newspaper snapped their picture, and the next day, all of New York knew they were dating. Because of all the publicity, and because Charles was his best friend, Will felt he owed it to Caroline to call and set up a real date. It went smoothly, and he found that she was interesting and intelligent (at least, compared to the other girls he knew, which wasn't saying much), and the relationship continued. It wasn't until after they had been together for a few months and certain expectations had been raised that Will began to see Caroline's true colors, and he realized that it was all just a façade. Sadly, Will felt they had passed the point of no return, and it would take something major to change things.

A week later, it was time for the party. As he was getting ready, Will realized he was nervous. But why should he be? By now, the whole neighborhood knew he was with Caroline. _Elizabeth_… Why was he thinking about _her_? He had never even talked to her. Still, he worried that someone, namely Caroline, would see that he was distracted and guess the reason. Therefore, he was determined to ignore her all night. He realized he was also nervous about what they would think of each other. Elizabeth was so…_different_.

When they arrived at the party, Charles immediately went to find Jane. Louisa stayed for about ten minutes before she claimed she had a migraine and went home. Will and Caroline sat down at one of the tables that had been set up and talked. Well, Caroline talked. After half an hour, she felt she had to say something.

"Oh, Will, what _are_ we doing here? This place is so…" She looked around the yard, taking in the decorations, the out-of-style clothes, and the bad dancing to country music, which Caroline absolutely _hated_. She couldn't find the right word to express her utter disgust for the whole thing.

"Different?" Will offered. _Will you please shut up?_

"Exactly." She continued for half an hour, finding fault with everything, too exasperated to continue the charade of niceness any longer. Will noted the change and found himself looking for Elizabeth. Where _was_ she? She had to be there. She _lived_ , she came outside. Tonight she was dressed casually in a short-sleeved light green dress that fell just below her knees. Caroline, on the other hand, was wearing a bright red dress that would have been more appropriate for a night on the town. The neckline was too low and the skirt was too high and it was just a bit too tight. After another fifteen minutes, Caroline followed her sister's example and went home, but not before Charles came over and introduced Jane and Elizabeth. By now, almost everyone was dancing, so after a few moments of semi-awkward silence, Charles asked Jane to dance, and after a pause, Will asked Elizabeth.

"So," Elizabeth began. "How long are you planning to stay?"

"A few more weeks, maybe."

"Oh." _Come on, say something. Anything. Something on the news, maybe?_ "So, what do you think about Bernard Madoff's conviction?" _Well, at least it's a start._

Will looked a bit confused but replied, "He got what he deserved."_ Wow. She's different._

"But that doesn't help the people he stole from. They should be able to go to his home, take as much as they want, and then have a huge party and trash the place. Or turn it into something everyone could use. Whatever."_ Quit staring at me._

Will laughed. After that, they discussed school and work, books, music, and TV, family, goals, the state of the economy, and everything in between. Things were going pretty well, considering their start. Then, after an hour or two…

"Looks like your girlfriend wants you." Caroline was waving at him from the window._ Yeah, that doesn't look desperate at all._

"Oh…yeah. Well, bye."_ She's so clingy sometimes._

"See you around."

He confused her. She fascinated him. This was about to get interesting.

**You've read it. Now review! Come on, you must have something to say! Love it, hate it, any suggestions?**


	5. A New Acquaintance

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers, jkmk, arya19, biancaruth, and honuangel!**

**A New Acquaintance**

Elizabeth Bennet did not believe in love at first sight. Attraction or infatuation, perhaps, but not love. How could anyone fall in love with someone they knew nothing about? Without knowing if they had the same beliefs or common goals or interests? Without knowing if they had any addictions or overwhelming debts or criminal records? Impossible. So when Jane said she was in love, Elizabeth was skeptical.

"Come on, Jane, what do you really know about this guy?"

"Everything. Well, close to everything. Check it out." She got out her notebook and turned to a page with Charles' picture on it. There she had listed everything she knew about him, including his full name, birthday, family, friends, education, job, likes and dislikes, interests, religion, political views, goals, and bad habits. According to her, he had none.

"He doesn't drink, smoke, use drugs, gamble, or engage in any other negative activities. And before you ask, I looked him up online, and he doesn't have any criminal records or anything."

"Wow. It looks like you have everything in common. Right down to being almost too nice." Jane always tried to see the best in people and rarely got angry about anything. It was one of the reasons everyone liked her, although as a child, her parents worried that she was too trusting and might go off to help some stranger find his lost puppy or something. And sometimes it would have been a bit aggravating, if she wasn't also sensible, clever, and confident.

That morning, Elizabeth and Jane went to work at the café and then volunteered at the community garden. It had started out as just a littered, empty lot, but a group of Girl Scouts decided to clean it up and turn it into something everyone could enjoy. Three years later, almost everyone was involved. Elizabeth was busy planting the seedlings that she been growing at home when she heard, "So what are those going to be?"

She turned around towards the gate, where she saw a young man, about twenty, with light brown hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a slightly wrinkled white t-shirt and worn jeans.

"Carrots, tomatoes, and beans."

"Gotta love vegetables. Hello, I'm George Wickham."

"Elizabeth Bennet. Are you new around here?"

"Yeah. I'm staying with a friend just a few doors down."

Just then, Will and Charles walked by. Charles said hello and tried to flirt with Jane, who blushed and looked away, feeling tongue-tied and self-conscious. Will, skilled at hiding his feelings, was silent and impassive, but Elizabeth, skilled at discovering what people were feeling, saw that he had a lot of repressed hostility, all of it aimed at George. He gave her a look of mild confusion and disapproval. After they left, Elizabeth said, "Wow. What was that?"

"What? Oh, it was nothing," he said nonchalantly.

"You know him?"

George hesitated. "Yeah…We used to be friends. His dad was my role model. He was going to pay for me to go to college, but…when he died, Will cut me off." He looked away, kind of sad and embarrassed and incredibly sincere.

"Oh, wow. Why?"

"I don't know. I spent a lot of time with his dad, trying to learn from him. Maybe Will was just a bit jealous. Anyway, I'm doing okay now. I got a job and a place to live, and things are looking up." He looked so cheerful and optimistic. "Well, I'd better go. I'll be in town for a week or two, so maybe I'll see you around." He gave her a shy smile.

Elizabeth was usually very perceptive when first meeting someone. _Usually._ But she was thrown off by some lingering resentment against Will Darcy. And George Wickham was skilled at manipulating people, especially women. So she trusted him. It was as simple as that. Maybe her parents should have worried about her as well.


	6. To Grandmother's House We Go

**To Grandmother's House We Go**

It was a normal Saturday morning at the Bennet home. After listening to Lydia whine about the one-hour TV limit and Mary list statistics about crime in America for half an hour, Susan took them with her to the café. Ben was drinking coffee, reading the paper, and debating the new economic policy with Gen, who was buzzing around, doing the dishes, laundry, and bills, baking dozens of pies for a bake sale that afternoon, and singing along to the radio. Jane and Elizabeth were sleeping in after being responsible all week. Baby Abigail was sitting in her high chair covered with mashed bananas and making cute baby noises. She was about fourteen months old and her mother and sisters enjoyed dressing her up in cute pink dresses. She had big blue eyes and strawberry blond hair and everyone loved her.

Then at nine-thirty, the phone rang. For some reason, Elizabeth and Jane were invited to her grandmother, Mrs. Catherine de Bourgh's, dinner party. After about an hour of negotiating, Gen agreed to give them a hundred dollars each if they would go. Reluctantly, they put on their nicest dresses and some jewelry and makeup and set out for what they were certain would be a disastrous night. When they arrived, they saw that Charles and Will were there as well. Jane was thrilled, in her quiet, subtle way, but Elizabeth wondered if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

At Netherfield House, Will and Charles had felt much the same way about the invitation. Charles was uncharacteristically irritable. He could have gone out with Jane, but _no,_ he was stuck spending the evening with this snobbish rich lady and her annoying friends. He didn't know why she bothered to invite him. Aside from being a CEO in the company that had been in their families for generations, Will was also her fourth cousin twice removed or something, which was very important to Mrs. de Bourgh, so he was always invited, but she had never before extended an invitation to Charles. Of course, these feelings immediately vanished when he saw that Jane was there as well. Will's feelings, on the other hand, were less clear.

Before dinner, Mrs. de Bourgh looked at Elizabeth and asked, "Who are you?" Never good at remembering names or faces, it was understandable that she would forget her granddaughters, as she had not made any effort to see them in years.

"Elizabeth, ma'am. It's a pleasure to see you again. Thank you for your hospitality." _Not!_

After a long silence, Mrs. de Bourgh finally said, "Your parents married very early."

"They did," Elizabeth answered, because Jane was too shocked._ Seriously? Didn't we have this conversation like, a dozen times already? And this is how you bring it up, in front of all these people?_

"I trust they are still happy with their decision?" she said very sarcastically.

"They are."_ No thanks to _you.

Suddenly Will was glad he hadn't started eating; otherwise he would have choked. _Could it be true? _Could Elizabeth and Jane Bennet be the daughters of Catherine's disgraced daughter, whose infamous elopement had been whispered about among friends and family for over twenty years? He had started to like Elizabeth, but now… This changed everything. He had to be sure. He leaned over and asked Charles, "So what are they doing here?"

"They're Mrs. de Bourgh's granddaughters. You know Mark Miller is their uncle?"_ Seriously, pay attention, man._

For the rest of the evening, Mrs. de Bourgh continued to make less-than-subtle remarks intimating that the Bennets were mercenary social climbers. One might wonder just where Mr. Miller was at this point, and why he didn't have enough sense to stop her. He was something of a workaholic and rarely ever home. Their marriage had been on the rocks almost from the beginning, when she announced that no, she would not volunteer for any more charity events, no, she would not change her name to something as _common_ as Miller, and _no_, she she was not interested in taking an active role in her children's day-to-day care. Of course, divorce was out of the question, but the decision was based less on their religious beliefs than their obsession with what people would think. Tonight, after several calls from his irate wife, Mr. Miller arrived at the party an hour late, said hello to his granddaughters and coworkers, and almost immediately went up to his office. After dinner, Will slipped outside onto the terrace and sat on a bench hidden by overgrown shrubs and darkness. A few minutes later, when Elizabeth came out to make a call, he couldn't help but overhear.

"Hello Mom. No, she hasn't changed a bit. So warm and inviting… Can't imagine why you ever left… Of course… She was hypercritical of everything and he just kept going on and on about his business and the stock market…" She laughed, and Will thought, _So that's what you think of me?_ "And then halfway through, Dad got fed up and kicked them out. That was a Thanksgiving to remember." Then she laughed again. She had a nice laugh. But he couldn't think of that _now_.

For the rest of the night, Will avoided her. Instead, he watched Charles and Jane. Caroline had mentioned during her rant against the neighborhood that Jane was just using Charles and would end up breaking his heart. Now Will became concerned about how much time his friend was spending with her. She was monopolizing his time, and he was getting hardly any work done. She acted perfectly friendly, but nothing else. She never called or came over on her own. When they were together, she always looked preoccupied. _Something has to be done._

He would have said something that night, but shortly after they got home around midnight, they heard a sound coming from next door. Charles looked out the window to the Bennets' backyard. A few lights were hanging from the trees and off the porch, music was playing softly, and Mrs. Bennet was setting up a table full of tea and cookies. Suddenly, Mr. Bennet came up behind her, grabbed her, and spun her around a few times. The two little girls who had been catching fireflies stopped and giggled. Jane and Elizabeth laughed softly and started to sing along with the radio. From where he stood, Will could only hear a little. And honestly, what he heard scared him a little.

"…_she doesn't get your humor…_

… _music she doesn't like…_

…_she brought you down…_

…_say you're fine, I know you better than that…_

_You belong with me…_"

"What _is _that horrible racket? Don't these backwards country folks know that some people are trying to sleep?" Suddenly, Caroline appeared seemingly out of nowhere behind Charles and Will.

"They are not _that_ loud, Caroline. It looks like they're having an after party." It was not lost on anyone that Charles was absolutely mesmerized with Jane, and Will and Caroline shared a look that said, _We have to do something_.

"Charles," Caroline began, "are you sure…" Suddenly, the three were spotted by Ben, who immediately invited them over. Before Will or Caroline could make their excuses, Charles enthusiastically accepted. Will sighed. This was going to be a long night.


	7. Goodbye and Hello Again

**Goodbye and Hello Again**

"She is _amazing_. She volunteers at the community garden, and the animal shelter, and the community center, and at her church. She's an amazing cook; did you know she baked those cookies we had last night? And she's so smart; she skipped kindergarten and was in one of those programs where she started taking college courses her junior year of high school, so now she's going to be in her senior year. She's going to be an elementary school teacher."

The next morning at breakfast, Charles had just finished extolling Jane's many virtues when he mentioned that he was thinking about asking her out on a real date, to dinner and a movie. Will nearly choked on his cereal. He had been planning to do this with Caroline and Louisa there, but they were sleeping in late, and there was no time.

"Charles," he said carefully, "are you sure about this?"

"About what?"

"Are you sure she's interested?"

"Of course…I mean…I'm pretty sure…Will, you can't seriously think…"

"Look, I'm just saying, you've only known each other for what, three weeks? If she doesn't feel the same way, now's the time to get out, before she ends up breaking your heart."

What few people understood about Charles was that as a child, he was painfully shy and socially awkward. This may have been due to the fact that his time with children his own age was limited, because instead of going to school, he had a private tutor until he was ten. Maybe it was because when he started school, he was picked on because of the lame clothes his mother picked out for him. Or maybe it was because his sisters always took the spotlight in social situations while he was ignored. Anyway, he buried himself in his schoolwork, and it wasn't until he started high school that he gained enough confidence to branch out and make friends. As an adult, he was usually confident and outgoing and made friends easily wherever he went, but he was still clueless when it came to certain things, like women. As a focused, goal-oriented individual, he had never had a girlfriend before, but lots of girls wanted to be with him, and they were never subtle about it. Jane was different. All day, Charles watched her and saw that she was being perfectly nice, but nothing more. By that night, he was convinced that it would be best if he left as soon as possible to save himself any further heartache. Will, Charles, Caroline, and Louisa left early Monday morning. There was no warning and no goodbye. Caroline sent an email to explain.

_Dear Jane,_

_So sorry we couldn't stay longer, but Charles was just so anxious to get back to work in the city. He's missed so much; it will be months before he's done. Plus, we all want to see Will's sister again. Anna Darcy is so wonderful in every way. One way or another, I'm sure it won't be long before we're sisters for real._

_Sincerely, Caroline_

Needless to say, Jane was absolutely heartbroken. She couldn't understand why this had happened, and Elizabeth knew better than to try to convince her that Caroline Bingley was a lying, scheming witch. The worst part was, Jane wasn't one of those girls who fall in "love" every other week. She had also been focused on reaching her goals, and because of that, her life was just about perfect. Now, for the first time in her life, she felt out of control. She went to work, volunteered, helped out around the house, and took on as many projects as she could, always smiling and pretending everything was fine, but it her family knew better. When she wasn't busy, she was in her room, thinking about Charles and playing the same song over and over again.

_Talk is cheap, but the price is high when it's true…_

Shortly after moving to Longbourn, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet became close friends with Edward and Madelyn Gardiner, who owned the nearby farm. When they mentioned their wish to become foster parents, the Bennets decided to put their money to good use and make it happen. Twenty years later, they had adopted twelve children, from ages two to seventeen. The two families stayed friends and helped each other out whenever they could. When they heard how depressed Jane was, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner came up with a solution. For years, they had wanted to take a trip to the city, but with so many children, it just didn't seem possible. But with Jane along to help, it would be perfect. So they packed and made the necessary arrangements, and a week later, Jane was with them when they got on a train headed for New York City. They would be there until a week before she had to go back to school.

Surprisingly, Jane had a good time. She was only responsible for the four youngest children, Sarah, James, Luke, and Martha, and they were all very well behaved. She could take them shopping, sightseeing, out to lunch, or simply to the park with no problems. Seventeen-year-old Debbie Gardiner also helped out sometimes, so she had some free time. It wasn't enough to make her forget, but she felt like things were looking up. Then one day, she was coming back from lunch when she ran into someone. Literally. She spilled her iced tea, and papers flew everywhere.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's fine. Are you alright?"

"Fine, thank you." Suddenly she looked up and saw none other than Will Darcy. _Oh no._

"Well…uh…how are you?" _Oh no._

"Fine. I'm staying here with some friends of the family for the rest of the summer."

"That's nice. Well, I better go back to work."

"It was nice seeing you again." Jane went back to her hotel room. Will went back to his office. Both tried to forget what had just happened.

In early August, Elizabeth was invited to her friend Charlotte's engagement party. Elizabeth had first met Charlotte Lucas on her first day of college, when Charlotte was a junior. She was very helpful and told Elizabeth and Jane everything they needed to know. She was tall with brown eyes and dark brown shoulder-length hair and had a bright personality that made up for her somewhat plain appearance. Now, she was engaged to Bill Collins, who just happened to be David Collins' nephew, and he was just as weird and annoying sometimes. At the engagement party, Elizabeth was listening to him go on and on about his _wonderful_ boss and his _lovely_ wife, who was kind enough to say hello at the last office party and suggest how he could redecorate his cubicle, when Charlotte came over and suggested that he greet the other guests.

"Thank you _so_ much, Charlotte. How are you?"

"I'm great. Really. Bill is a really sweet, caring guy, and we have so much in common."_ And I don't listen to half of what he says._

"Well then, I'm happy for you."_ I feel so sorry for you._

"So, listen, I met this guy who would be just perfect for you."

"Charlotte, no…"

"No, listen. Remember when we made those lists of everything we want in a guy? Well, he fits your description to a T. He's a CEO at the company where Bill works. And here he comes now…no wait, that's his cousin. They look so much alike."

Elizabeth turned around and saw who Charlotte was talking about.

"Elizabeth, this is Jack Fitzwilliam. Jack, this is my friend Elizabeth Bennet," Charlotte said before walking off to get some appetizers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. So, are you here alone?"

"Yes. Charlotte said you're here with your cousin?"

"Yeah, his name's Will, and he's a real drag. He doesn't like to come to this kind of thing, so he's been complaining the entire time."

"Really?"_ Will? Did he say Will?_

"Yeah, but I told him it was either this or he could fight with his girlfriend some more. Apparently, she says he's too busy for her and he thinks she's extremely shallow and clingy. It's only a matter of time."

They talked some more, but the entire time, Elizabeth was thinking, _It couldn't be the same person, could it? There must be dozens of antisocial CEOs named Will who look like this guy and have shallow girlfriends in New York City._ She had been tuning him out until suddenly he said, "He needs to do himself a favor and break up with her already, like he got her brother to break up with some girl he met on vacation."

"What?" _Did he really just say that?_

"Well, he never said who, exactly, just that his friend had fallen head over heels for some girl who didn't reciprocate. Apparently they weren't that serious yet, so he stopped him from getting his heart broken. He's a good friend like that."

"Wow." _That JERK! How could he think…?_

Elizabeth stayed about five more minutes before saying goodbye to Jack and going to the bathroom and having a complete breakdown. After ten minutes or so, she splashed some water on her face, redid her makeup, and came out. She was sitting at a table near the dance floor when she heard, "Forget Caroline. There are plenty of pretty girls here. I just met one who was pretty, smart, and funny. You should meet her. Look, there she is now."

It was Jack. She turned around partway and hoped he had meant someone else, when she heard Will, yes, it was definitely Will, reply, "She's okay, but not pretty enough for _me_."

If Elizabeth had any less self-control, she would have gone up to him and hit him. Instead, she smiled and laughed and pretended not to hear. She counted to ten before she stood up and went to say hello.

Will knew he was making a mistake. Caroline had never been the best girlfriend, but since their return from Longbourn, she was unbearable. He now saw that she was petty, jealous, mean, and vapid, and he had had just about enough. The woman Jack had pointed out was beautiful. Then she stood up and turned around. _Elizabeth? Oh no. How did this happen?_ He suddenly remembered the first time he saw her. Now he had insulted her _twice._ She didn't look like she had heard, but how could he have been so careless? Hadn't he learned anything the first time? As she said hello and Jack made small talk, all he could think about was how different she looked. Her dress, shoes, hair, and makeup made her look older, more mature, than eighteen. Thinking back over the time they spent together earlier that summer, he realized he loved her. Things were about to get explosive.


	8. The Breakup

**The chapter you've all been waiting for…**

**The Breakup**

Will Darcy knew several things about Elizabeth Bennet. From the short time he had known her, he knew that she was beautiful, with subtle style, intelligent, witty, independent, dependable, refreshingly honest, conservative, innocent but not naïve, active in her community, aware of the world around her, loyal and protective of her friends and family. She enjoyed reading, baking, singing, walking, and bike riding. She had learned from her parents many practical life skills, including how to fix a flat tire, balance a checkbook, and do her own taxes. She often volunteered at the community garden, where she had planted herbs, vegetables, beautiful flowers, and a few fruit trees. Sometimes she stayed up late at night, but she was usually up before dawn. He knew this because the window of his room at Netherfield had a good view into hers, or at least it would have if she didn't have those thin, lacy curtains which she had tie-dyed neon pink and blue. What Will did not know was that she currently despised him.

Elizabeth was not the type to get angry or offended easily or hold a grudge. Really, she wasn't. And she was perfectly willing to let go of a bad first impression and give people a second chance. She was very similar to Jane, except she was more extroverted. But if there was any doubt in her mind about what she felt towards Will Darcy, that night made it perfectly clear. He had insulted her, not once, but _twice_, and both times it was before he even knew who she was. At social gatherings, he made it perfectly clear that he felt he was superior to everyone else. He was always aloof or disdainful when he condescended to speak to anyone. He stared too much. And what he did to Jane and Charles and George was inexcusable. Jane was absolutely devastated, and George was crashing on his friends' couches and working at McDonald's.

When he left Longbourn, Will tried to convince himself he wasn't feeling anything. But seeing her at Charlotte's engagement party, he forgot all of that. He listened as she and Jack discussed the movies they had watched lately and their plans for the rest of the summer. Suddenly Jack asked, "So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Charlotte and I will be doing some shopping for the wedding, meeting my sister Jane for lunch, and going out to dinner with Charlotte's family. You're coming to that too, right?"

"Yeah, we'll be there. So, your sister lives nearby?"

"No, she's been staying with some friends of the family for the past few weeks while they're on vacation. They have twelve children, four under the age of ten, so she was too busy to come tonight or to the dinner tomorrow. We're going back home the next day."

The next night, Will knew what he had to do. But before he could do it, he had to break up with Caroline. It was surprisingly easy. He went to her apartment around five and let himself in with the key she had given him. He thought about what he would say and decided to just leave a note asking her to meet with him later. He went to her desk to get some paper, a sticky note, something, when he saw that she had left her computer on. Apparently Caroline had been instant messaging before leaving in a hurry. He was just going to ignore it, but she hadn't even bothered to close the window, and after a mental debate that lasted all of two seconds, he started reading.

**princesscaroline: **im bored

**princecharming: **wheres ur boyfreind?

**princesscaroline: **idk. wanna come over?

**princecharming: **sure. so when r u going 2 brake up w/him?

**princesscaroline: **soon. then we won't have 2 sneak around anymore. :) love u

**princecharming: **love u 2

It went on and on from there. They had talked for hours, and some parts were very explicit. Will was stunned. She was cheating on him. Sure, he was about to break up with her, but still… Just then, Caroline came in.

"Will!" she exclaimed in that high, fake-sweet voice of hers. Suddenly it became very shrill as she saw what he was doing. "What are you… Are you reading my messages?! That is my _private_ computer, Will!"

"You left it on. So who is he?" His voice was low and cold and just barely concealed his anger. Of course, Caroline, being Caroline, didn't have enough sense to see that. She quickly went from surprised and accusing to defensive and dismissive.

"Who? Oh, well…he's just a friend. I _can_ have friends, can't I? What do you expect me to do while you're working all day? You can be so _paranoid _sometimes." Suddenly she stopped and seemed to reconsider the matter. Assuming an air of indifference, she sighed and started, "Oh, come on, Will. We both knew this wasn't going anywhere. Maybe is you were actually around anymore I wouldn't have to…"

"Really? It sure sounded like you thought it was going somewhere the past few months."

That did it. If Caroline had seemed shrill before, she was reaching new levels now.

"And you made it perfectly clear you would much rather be with that penniless social-climbing _nobody_!"

"What?" _That doesn't even make sense. The Bennets aren't _that_ poor._

"I saw you watching her. It was _despicable!_ But what was it about _her,_ Will? What made _her_ so special?"

"Who…?" _Please be mistaken._

"You know _exactly_ who I'm talking about! _Elizabeth Bennet._ Never mind that her mother _disgraced _her family by eloping with a common _handyman,_ or that her gold-digger sister broke Charles' heart, or that there's a rumor that _she_ is that baby's mother." _Or there will be when I start it._ "She had no style, no class; she couldn't even afford to go to a decent college if she and her sister weren't on scholarship!"

"Caroline, you have said quite enough. It is obvious we have nothing in common anymore. Goodbye." And with that, he walked out the door, hoping never to encounter Caroline Bingley again. Caroline was left to plot her revenge.

**A/N: I already know what will happen in the rest of the story, but if anyone has any suggestions for a major plot twist, I'd love to hear them.**


	9. The Proposal

**Disclaimer: I am not Jane Austen or Taylor Swift. Therefore neither Pride and Prejudice or the lyrics for "Tell Me Why" belong to me.**

**The Proposal**

Two hours later, Will got to the restaurant where the Lucases were having the dinner. It was meant to be a small dinner in the Lucases' home with only Charlotte's family and a few close friends, but at Bill's request, the invitation list grew considerably. Will and Jack had been invited, along with about half the people they worked with. Bill somehow figured that working together made them friends, and he insisted that Charlotte should get to know his friends before they got married. Will looked around the extravagantly decorated restaurant which reminded him of Catherine de Bourgh and saw Elizabeth by an aquarium looking at the fish. Throughout dinner, while he was stuck listening to Mr. Lucas go on and on about his investments and Mrs. Lucas gossip about everyone she knew, Elizabeth laughed and reminisced with Charlotte over all the crazy things they'd done in the past few years.

"Remember the time we had that all-night movie marathon?"

"Remember after midterms when we got on a train and just kept going all night, and we ended up in Canada?"

"Remember when we went to that party and you pushed that jerk in the pool?"

She also informed Mrs. Lucas about the goings-on in Longbourn and Mr. Lucas about some investment opportunities there. She charmed all the young men, and found something genuinely nice to say to everyone.

Later that night, after everyone else had left, Will saw Elizabeth standing outside waiting for a taxi. She had just called Jane and told her she would come over the next day so they could go home together when he approached and offered to give her a ride. She politely refused at first, but he insisted, and after about twenty minutes of silence, they arrived at the hotel where she was staying. She was about to get out when Will thought,_ It's now or never._

"Elizabeth, wait. I've tried, believe me I've tried, but I just can't ignore my feelings for you any longer. I love you."

_What?_

"Despite your age, your family's reputation and financial status, and the estrangement I would face from my family, I love you. Marry me." _Don't think about what Caroline said, or what you're giving up. You've proposed, now Elizabeth will say yes, and it will all be worth it. Right?_

_What?!_ _Okay, be nice._ "_Seriously?_" _Or not._ "I mean, as much as I appreciate the offer, I can_not_ accept."

"You…you refuse?"_ What? How could she refuse?_

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get over it soon enough."_ Arrogant jerk._

"Why?"_ This doesn't make sense._

"Why did you break up Jane and Charles? You knew she was totally in love with him!"

"No she wasn't."_ Was she?_

"I think I know my sister better than _you._ But then, I've only lived with her for almost nineteen years, and I've only seen her totally depressed for the past few weeks. And what about George Wickham?"

"What about him?"_ What did he tell her?_

"He told me how you treated him. Maybe if he had been able to go to college he wouldn't be working at McDonald's now."

"He deserves no better."_ After what he did, he deserves a lot worse. _Here she said nothing, but glared at him. He continued, "Maybe this would have been different if I had sugarcoated everything. Did you think I would be thrilled to be connected with the family I've heard whispered about for years? People who are so obviously beneath me?"

"If by sugarcoating everything you mean not insulting me, then yeah, maybe that would have helped. But you are sadly mistaken if you think that the way you asked made any difference except that it made it easier to say no than if you had acted with a bit more civility and less like an arrogant, presumptuous jerk. You could not have asked in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept. Get this straight: I don't _care_ what you think. I don't like you. You are arrogant, conceited, and not that I'm _jealous_ or anything, but _Caroline?_ Really? I had not known you two weeks before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry." With that, she opened the door and ran inside the hotel.

"Well. I'm sorry you feel that way. Sorry for wasting your time. Have a nice life," he yelled back before driving away. After that, Will drove around the block a few times, angry, shocked, and humiliated. He couldn't believe it. She _hated_ him. Part of him said, _Forget her. She's a child. You can do much better._ The other part yelled back, _Better how? You loved her, she was smart and funny and pretty and an amazing person, and you messed it all up because you were thinking about what _Caroline_ said?_ And still another voice, Elizabeth's voice, echoed, _If you had acted with a bit more civility and less like an arrogant, presumptuous jerk… _He was determined to set things straight. He stayed up all night trying to come up with a reply and finally wrote a brief note. The next morning, he went back to the hotel and waited at the door for her to come out. She never did.

That night, Elizabeth was a wreck. She had breakfast and checked out early the next day. She and Jane came home and a week later, they were headed back to school. At college, Elizabeth was walking by the library when she saw a girl sitting on a bench looking hopelessly lost. Her long, curly blond hair hid her face when she looked down at her map. She made Elizabeth think of a lost puppy. _She must be a freshman._ Georgiana explained that she'd gotten there early but was so busy unpacking that she'd missed the tours and had gotten turned around while looking around on her own, so Elizabeth gave her a tour and invited her to the dorm she shared with Jane. They had pizza and ice cream and a movie marathon, and the night ended with a karaoke competition. Finally Elizabeth's turn came.

_I took a chance, I took a shot…_

_Oh no. No, no, no. This was definitely the wrong song to pick. Maybe this is my subconscious trying to tell me something. Like maybe, _he's a conceited jerk who's just not worth getting upset over._ So why am I still thinking about him?_

…_tell me that you want me then cut me down…_

_I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry. I am not…_

…_I remember what you said last night…_

_Why why why why why?_

A week later, a package from home arrived, containing tea, homemade cookies, and two letters.

_Dear Jane and Elizabeth,_

_How has your first week back at school been? Nothing much is happening here. Most of the neighbors are still out of town on vacation, so business at the café has been a bit slow. Abby is sleeping more now, so things are pretty quiet around here. Hope you and your new friend enjoy the cookies._

_Love, Mom and Dad_

_P.S.- Elizabeth, shortly after you left, this letter came in the mail._

Jane was curious about the letter as there was no return address and she did not recognize the handwriting, but she knew her sister would tell her everything in time. Elizabeth knew who it was from and put it aside until that night after Jane had gone to sleep. She had been debating with herself all day whether or not to read it, and at eleven-thirty, she finally opened it.

_Dear Elizabeth,_

_I would have written sooner, but it took me a while to figure all this out. I feel I must explain to you the rationale for my actions. You made two very different accusations and now I hope you will understand. Sorry, but you're wrong. I really thought Jane wasn't interested. Charles is my best friend and I didn't want him to get his heart broken. I should have known better, as my two main reasons to doubt your sister's feelings were the observations of Caroline Bingley and your grandmother's malicious comments. And George Wickham is a creep. The truth is, he used to be like a brother. After his father's death when he was sixteen, he got emancipated to avoid going into foster care. My father got him a job at his company and let him stay with us. He became a real mentor to him. He said he saw a lot of potential in him and promised to pay for his education. But after he died, George made it clear he wasn't going to college. He just wanted the money. I figured it would be a small price to pay to get rid of him. Then about two years ago, he came back and started dating my little sister. According to her, everything seemed fine for a while, but then he started to get really controlling and demanding. He started calling her dozens of times each day and harassing her. I didn't know anything for three months until one night she called me from the hospital at one in the morning. He had broken her arm. He was arrested, but for some reason he was only sentenced to probation and community service. Now you know, so please be careful._

_Sincerely, Will_

When he realized that he had been too late to see her at the hotel, Will saw he had two choices. He could either destroy the note, forget about Elizabeth, and pray they would never meet again, or he could mail it to her. This set in motion an internal debate that took several days to settle. Should he expose Wickham's character at the expense of his sister? When he finally decided that she had to know the truth, two more problems arose. For one thing, he didn't know where she was. He knew she was in college, but she had never mentioned the name. Second, when he read over the note, he realized it was short and angry, so he started over. Better late than never.

All the stress from two weeks ago came rushing back. Yes, he had been a complete jerk. But she had also completely misjudged him. And she had been so_ mean_ to him. Now…the odds she would ever see him again were slim to none. Still, she wished she could talk to him.

**A/N: Again, I would really appreciate any suggestions or advice on the upcoming plot twist. Speak now, or you might regret it.**

**The next chapter will be short, with absolutely no relevance to the original story, just a bit of fluff ending in happily ever after.**


	10. Making Friends

**Sorry it's been so long but I still have a few summer assignments to finish for school and I'm working on a new story. I can't believe it! Only three weeks of summer left! And only three chapters after this one!**

**Making Friends**

Elizabeth and Jane were not exactly shy, but as they were much more used to dealing with people older than themselves, they had few close friends their age. So of course Gen was thrilled when they called and told her they had made a new friend, and immediately invited her over as soon as possible. Georgiana was therefore invited to Elizabeth's nineteenth birthday party in October and Jane's twentieth in November, and also for the weekend of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's twenty-first anniversary. That Friday afternoon, when they got out of class, they took the two-hour train ride to Longbourn. The next morning, Georgiana woke to the sound of someone singing Christmas carols. Gen had gotten up early and made coffee and pancakes, peanut butter and nut pinecones for the remaining birds, and chain of popcorn and cranberries. The others got up and had breakfast while she hung strings of lights and baked dozens of pumpkin pies for a bake sale later that day. That evening, they went out to dinner with Mark and Susan for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's anniversary.

Georgiana was pleasantly surprised. Although she was not at all stuck up because of her wealth, she had somehow expected…less. She wasn't stupid. She had put two and two together and realized these were the two girls her brother and his friend had met over the summer. Growing up, she and her brother had been told about their distant cousin Catherine's destitute daughter and her unfortunate choices. She half expected the family to be living in a shack in the middle of nowhere. But the Bennets seemed like a normal, upper middle-class family. They had a nice house and a nice car, and they were seen as pillars of the community. On top of everything, they were all so nice, and much more like a family than anything she had ever known. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were both really interested in their daughters' lives, and after twenty years together, they didn't act like they were at all tired of each other, unlike many other couples she knew. She wouldn't mind being connected to this family.

They got home from the restaurant around ten. The Bennets and Georgiana went inside while Susan helped Mark pick up some papers he had scattered in his car. Suddenly they heard a scream from outside. Half a minute later, Susan and Mark ran into the living room and announced they were engaged. Georgiana was the only one who was surprised, as the Bennets had known, or at least suspected, that they had been dating since Mark had first come over that summer. They announced they would have the wedding as soon as possible.

Gen was a lot of things. She was a wife, a mother, a sister, a teacher, and much, much more. She was great at multitasking and a born people pleaser, so when something needed to be done, she was the one to call. That was why, after announcing their engagement, Mark and Susan asked her to plan their wedding. She had managed to put her own wedding together in three weeks, and everything went perfectly. So she made calls, baked a four-tiered caramel cake with layers of strawberries, toffee, and coffee-flavored icing in between, and made some tasteful winter-themed decorations. When everyone came together again a month later, they all said it was perfect. The bride looked stunning, the groom claimed he was the luckiest man on Earth, and Mary and Lydia were thrilled to have a mother again. They moved into a nice house a few blocks away from the Bennets'. One couple, at least, got their happily ever after.

At the beginning of the year, Georgiana had called her brother and told him she had made new friends. He was just as, if not more excited, than Gen that his shy, introverted, emotionally scarred sister had made friends so quickly. It was a bright spot at an otherwise gloomy time for him, when he realized that when all was said and done, he was a loser. Now, William Darcy had many things to recommend him to people. For one thing, he was a millionaire and had a successful career running the business that had been in his family for generations. Unfortunately, he spent all his time there. His family had been known for its philanthropy. Still, he never gave more than he felt obligated to. He was intelligent and capable of engaging in conversation. However, he rarely did. He always looked good and dressed for success. Of course, it would have been nice to have someone to dress up for. He was, with few exceptions, a man of strong character who always stood up for his beliefs. But somehow, his only real friends were his sister and Charles, who was currently out of the country and not answering his phone or emails. He realized he had been a fool to think, no, to _assume_ that Elizabeth would accept him after the way he had treated her. She deserved better.

So in the course of the next few months, Will did everything in his power to improve himself. He made a point of saying hello to everyone he met and making conversation with at least three people at work every day. He started volunteering, became interested in various charities, and ended up funding a community center, a homeless shelter, a new hospital wing, a playground, the high school science labs, which had desperately needed new equipment, and several wells in Third World countries, for which he was awarded the Good Citizen Award. He was also invited to more parties, but now, instead of being bored out of his mind, he found himself actually beginning to enjoy them. He was introduced to many new people, including many new women, and while they could never compare with Elizabeth, he found them infinitely more agreeable than the girls he usually met at Caroline's parties, whose obvious fawning and flirtations were absolutely pathetic and sickening to him. He doubted he would ever cross paths with Elizabeth again, but still he hoped that if he did, at the very least she wouldn't hate him. More immediately, however, he was eager to see his sister again when he came to visit her in May.


	11. Back to School Again

**Back to School Again**

It was a perfect spring day in early May. The sun was out, a cool breeze was blowing, the flowers were blooming. Jane, Elizabeth, and Georgiana had just gotten out of class and were getting ready to relax and watch a movie in Georgiana's dorm. They stopped at a café for some coffee, donuts, and parfaits. The last semester of school had gone by quickly, and now, with graduation so close, even the fast-approaching finals couldn't dampen their moods. Jane and Elizabeth had been so busy, they had stopped thinking of their messed up love lives every second of the day, and they had helped Georgiana make many new friends, so she was feeling much more relaxed than she was at the beginning of the year. They had all woken up feeling that this would be the day something momentous happened. When they arrived at the dorm, they dropped their backpacks by the door and raced to the couch. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Georgiana went to answer it, and a few seconds later, they heard her scream.

"Will!"

"Will?" Elizabeth looked at a magazine on the table. The label read _Georgiana Darcy. Georgiana…Anna…ohhh. It can't be a coincidence. How many Darcys are there? And why didn't this ever come up before? _She suddenly remembered when they met. As Georgiana was introducing herself, a police car went by, sirens blaring, and Elizabeth couldn't quite hear her last name. She had mentioned her brother a few times, but… She tried not to panic._ Oh no, what will he think?_ To make an awkward situation even worse, Elizabeth had decided that morning to take advantage of her about-to-graduate senior status and dress as casually as possible all day, in a white t-shirt and light pink plaid pajama pants.

"Hey Georgie, how have you been?" Will stepped into the room and nearly jumped. "Jane, Elizabeth? Uh…hello." _This is awkward._ Will was shocked. He had never expected… But there she was. _Elizabeth. What a small world._

"Hi."_ Seriously? That's all you can say?_

"Oh! Do you know each other?" Georgiana asked innocently._ La-di-da, I don't know a thing. I mean, what a_ total coincidence_ we're all in the same room together, right?_

"Yes, we met this summer. So…how's your family?"_ Oh no. Jane. I completely forgot about Jane. Does she know? Does she hate me? She doesn't look very happy. I'm such an idiot._

"Fine."_ Okay, next time let's try to say more than a monosyllable._

Georgiana's suspicions were confirmed. Elizabeth Bennet was the reason her brother had ended it with Caroline. She was the reason he was trying to change. Soon, the movie started. The blinds were shut, the lights were off, and the volume was up fairly loud, so Will and Elizabeth took the opportunity to talk. What began with a vague comment on the movie from Will soon became a real conversation involving everything except what they really wanted to discuss. They talked about Georgiana, Jane, school, work, and even the weather. By the time the movie ended, sparks were flying. Unfortunately, he had to leave after a few more hours and go out of state for a few weeks on some very important business. So they traded contact information and said goodbye. He hoped when he came back, they could go out on a real date, but a small voice in the back of his mind said,_ Come on, Will, you know it can't be that easy._ It wasn't.

**Yeah, I know it's been way too long and this chapter is really short. Oh well. The next chapter will be longer.**


	12. The Truth is Revealed

**The Truth is Revealed**

_No. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. It must be a dream…_

When Elizabeth had announced to her family that mid-June morning that she would be taking the train to the city to do some shopping and sightseeing, she could never have imagined that only a few hours later, her world would turn upside down. She had been walking through Central Park when she remembered to turn on her phone and got the call._ Elizabeth, _Susan had said,_ come home._ By her tone, Elizabeth realized it was a true emergency. She was still trying to process the rest of the information as she sat on the train. Her mind refused to function. It couldn't be true. Her parents and Jane in the hospital, Abby missing. No. How? Why? Susan and Mark were at the train station waiting for her, along with a policeman she recognized as Officer Douglas. They went to the hospital, only about thirty minutes away, but what seemed like an eternity to Elizabeth. There they explained what had happened. Shortly after Elizabeth had left, two people had entered the house. Nobody had thought anything of it until fifteen minutes later, when a neighbor came over to return some of Ben's tools and saw what had happened. The _how _wasn't important. All that mattered was that her parents and Jane were now in critical condition and Abby was nowhere to be found.

That night, they all went back to the Millers' house when they got a call from Officer Douglas. The Longbourn crime lab, opened just last year to help the nearby cities with their insanely high crime rates, had made the Bennets their number one priority. After testing all the DNA samples from the crime scene, the found that the criminals were none other than George Wickham and Caroline Bingley, who were in fact, Abigail Bennet's biological parents. An Amber Alert had been issued, the media had been contacted, and the tech-savvy Longbourn police had even put the information on MySpace and Facebook. Due to a combination of shock, skipping lunch and dinner, unusually high temperatures, dehydration, and sheer exhaustion from the stress of the day, Elizabeth collapsed onto the couch and slept for twelve hours straight.

Caroline Bingley had it all. She was a hot, young socialite. After her breakup with Will, she had a string of rich boyfriends, more money than she knew what to do with, and everyone was jealous of her. And there was nothing in her life slowing her down. She was skilled at manipulating people to get what she wanted, and she knew how to make problems disappear quickly. Two years ago, Caroline had to make a very big problem disappear. She was pregnant. She couldn't let Will find out she had cheated on him. Luckily, she always wore flattering clothes and never ate much, so throughout the whole thing she was able to keep even the most persistent and invasive paparazzi from guessing the truth. But as more time went on, she became more and more desperate to find a solution. Finally, when the time came, Caroline secretly had the baby in a faraway town and left her on what she later learned was the Bennets' doorstep.

About a year later, she came back because Will and her brother had rented a house there for the summer. She saw the baby girl in the café and she knew. She _knew_ this was the child she had given up. Her name was Abigail and she was just so adorable. Everyone loved her. Of course Caroline wasn't feeling any remorse. She wasn't thinking, _How could I ever abandon such a sweet, innocent baby to complete strangers who could have abused or neglected her?_ She was jealous. The Bennets were so perfect. A year later, she came back again to take what she saw as hers. After much debate, she told the girl's father, George Wickham, what had happened, and the deranged, delusional couple conspired to get her back and start a family together.

Elizabeth was woken up by the phone ringing. She picked up cautiously, her mind still a little hazy, trying to remember and forget all at the same time. The voice on the other end was very shaky and it took a few minutes for Elizabeth to realize who it was.

"Georgiana?"

"Elizabeth, I just heard the news. I am so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault."

"But it was! I knew what kind of person George was. If I had told…"

"You did tell. And he got off easy. It's not your fault." Elizabeth thought for a minute. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"I…I don't know…"

"Where are you?"

"My apartment in the city."

"Why don't you come over? We could talk some more at the café."

Georgiana had called Will immediately after hanging up with Elizabeth. Despite her reassurances, she couldn't help feeling that it was her fault, and broke down as soon as she heard his voice. He had just gotten back to town the night before and was finishing up some things at the office before taking a long vacation. Will was so alarmed that he left work immediately and went to her apartment, where she told him what had happened. Any attempt on the author's part to fully and accurately describe Will's thoughts at that moment would be incomplete. But what it all came down to was this: Besides wanting to kill Wickham and see Caroline institutionalized for what she had done to the Bennets and her own daughter, he was worried about how Elizabeth was taking it and resigned to the fact that she would never want to have anything to do with him ever again. He was at a loss for what to do until Georgiana told him Elizabeth had asked her to come. They were about to leave when Will got a very unexpected call.

After about ten months in the jungles of Peru trying to forget the smart, funny, caring, blue-eyed blonde princess who had taken his heart and totally shattered it, Charles couldn't take it anymore. He had to go back. The first thing he did when he got off the plane was call Will. He sounded anxious. He had been trying to get ahold of him since he'd left, but of course Charles wasn't answering his phone or his emails because he was so depressed. When Charles got to Will's apartment, Will told him how wrong he had been in separating him from Jane, including their meeting in the city before Charles had left, and how shortly after that, he had learned the truth from Elizabeth. Of course, even though neither woman deserved it, he neglected to mention Caroline's or Catherine de Bourgh's parts in it, accepting all the blame himself. Charles would have been angry, furious even, at his friend for separating him from his true love for no good reason, if Will hadn't first mentioned that Jane was currently comatose in the hospital, and that his sister was to blame. Charles sat in shock and horror for a good five minutes, until Will told him they were going to Longbourn to see Elizabeth.

When they arrived, Will got the shock of his life. He first saw Elizabeth through the café window. Since he had last seen her, she had been so altered he barely recognized her at first glance, and was stunned when he thought this had all been the work of less than two days. Her hair, normally a dark reddish-brown, looked black by the poor lighting and, despite her efforts to brush it, had become a curly mess. Despite the heat and humidity of the day, she looked very pale, and her hands, wrapped around a glass of iced tea, were visibly shaking.

After she hung up, Elizabeth made herself some lunch, took a long bath, and changed into some clean clothes before walking to the café where she met not only Georgiana, but a very worried Will and Charles as well. Elizabeth had talked with Georgiana a dozen times and seen her twice since graduation. She had only had four emails from Will since then, but they were quite long. She hadn't heard from Charles at all since he had left Longbourn. Surprisingly, Elizabeth was the calmest one of the group, albeit very quiet and emotionless, still in shock and half in denial, and after directing them to a booth in the back where the shades were drawn and nobody would disturb them, began by pulling a folder out of her bag and producing copies of the DNA test results confirming what Georgiana and Will had already heard, but revealing the information fully to Charles for the first time. She then asked them to list all the people Wickham or Caroline could have turned to or anyplace they might have gone. After they had made a considerable list, she informed them that her parents and Jane seemed to be improving, but slowly, and she would visit them at the hospital later. Now it was just a matter of time.


	13. Almost Over

**Has it been a month already? Wow. Sorry. Junior year is harder than I expected. So is driving. Don't worry, I'll finish this soon.**

**Almost Over**

Elizabeth was very busy. She had to be, or else she knew she would break down. After meeting with Will, Charles, and Georgiana, she went to the Gardiners' farm where she worked almost nonstop until dark, feeding the animals, mowing the grass, and babysitting. When they told her to go home and get some rest, she went to the café. She stayed up all night, cleaning obsessively, redecorating, and making dozens of cakes, pies, and cookies. In the morning, she went home, cleaned some more, did the dishes and laundry and put everything away, got the mail, paid the bills, and took out the trash. When she woke up the next morning, she realized three things; a) she had fallen asleep in the bathtub, b) she had half a dozen phone calls from concerned friends and family, and c) she was absolutely _starving._ After that, she tried to get it together and take better care of herself, but everyone was still worried she was overexerting herself. Georgiana, especially, found an excuse to come over nearly every day to check up on her. On a few occasions, she brought Will, but he always seemed a bit on edge. Conversation soon became strained, and more often than not they ended up putting on a movie to break the silence.

Her parents and Jane woke up after a week and were steadily improving. Now, Jane had changed a lot in nearly a year. For one thing, she grew a backbone. Not to say that she had been completely spineless before. But getting her heart ripped to shreds and having to move on had changed her views on love and trust. Which is why it's probably for the best that Charles didn't come to see her right away. For three days, he sent flowers and chocolate and long, almost indecipherable letters about how incredibly sorry he was for being such a complete idiot. Had he not done that, she probably would have screamed at him and maybe even thrown a punch. But finally, after Elizabeth assured him that Jane would not tell him to get lost, he came to see her. A part of Jane, a small part, wanted to yell and scream and tell him how completely stupid his excuses were and how weak they made him sound. Part of her wanted to be the strong, independent woman that could say, _Forget it, you had your chance, I'm done waiting._ But she couldn't. She was Jane. She was in love. Truly, deeply, madly, head-over-heels, want-to-spend-the-rest-of-our-lives-together in L-O-V-E with Charles Bingley. So she waited exactly five seconds after he finished talking and accepted his apology. After that, they spent a few hours catching up and watching the movie he had brought. It will come as no surprise that immediately after leaving the hospital, Charles went to buy an engagement ring, and the next morning, he first went to Mr. Bennet for his permission. Of course, Elizabeth had kept her parents well informed of what went on between them, so permission was quickly granted, and fifteen minutes later, Jane claimed to be the happiest person on Earth, and only wished Will would hurry up and ask Elizabeth.

While Georgiana was with Elizabeth and Charles was with Jane, Will was feeling extremely guilty about not revealing what a horrible person Wickham was and doing everything possible to find him and Caroline. He hired a private investigator and personally checked out all the places Wickham was known to frequent, and seeing as how he owed them all a ton of money, the owners and patrons were more than willing to help find him. But the search was still long and hard. The first hundred or so leads came up empty before Will thought of Mrs. Younge. As a new teacher at Georgiana's private, all-girls high school, she had had a small role in her disastrous relationship, allowing Wickham to hang around all the time and running interference for him whenever a concerned parent (or brother) asked questions. Finally, after Wickham's arrest, Mrs. Younge was fired for stealing money from the school to pay for his bail. At the time, everyone had thought she was involved with him (which was true) and never meant for a student to get hurt (which was not). Will had never thought she could have gone so far as to risk arrest to help him now but decided it was worth looking into. However, he soon discovered that checking up on her was going to be harder than it sounded. The woman had apparently disappeared off the face of the earth.

On the day her parents and sister were supposed to come home from the hospital, Elizabeth woke up at five. She turned on the early morning news and made a huge breakfast, with pancakes, fruit, eggs, bacon, and sausage. She felt strangely excited, as if she had drank three cups of coffee, when really she only had two. At exactly seven o'clock, there was a knock at the door and a few seconds later, Georgiana ran in.

"Good morning!"

"Hey, Georgie."

"So are you excited? I'm excited. Too bad Will couldn't come."

"What happened? Something come up at work?" She tried and failed to look nonchalant.

"I don't know. He left early this morning saying he had to check something out."

Suddenly the phone rang.


	14. Happily Ever After

**Happily Ever After**

_"We have breaking news: At six fifty-seven this morning, George Wickham and Caroline Bingley were discovered by police at Ramsgate Motel, where they have been hiding since going on the run two weeks ago. They have been arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder. Ms. Bingley has also been charged with child abandonment. An employee at the motel, Julia Younge, has been charged as an accomplice. The child in question was found with them and safely returned to her sister before the rest of the family were released from the hospital."_

Will didn't know what he was doing. He really didn't. As hard as he tried, he didn't know what to do or where to go or who to talk to next. So he just drove aimlessly, hoping that by some miracle, he would find something and all the pieces would just fall into place. Two hours later, in a bad neighborhood of a small town he had never heard of before, he saw it. Ramsgate Motel. Dirty, littered, and falling apart, it seemed like the perfect place to look. Maybe it was the graffiti, the overgrown hedges, or the broken windows, but something about the place seemed to shout _Criminals hiding out HERE!_ Sure enough, he was about to go inside when he saw none other than Julia Younge at the front desk. Her hair, once long and dark, was now cut short and bleached blond, she had lost some weight, and he was sure she was wearing colored contacts behind her oversized sunglasses, but it was definitely her. She looked at the clock on the wall, made a quick call, and stepped outside just as Will jumped behind a hedge. He watched her go two doors to the right. When the door opened, he could smell the smoke, and he clearly heard the people he had been looking for. A quick call to the police, and ten minutes later George Wickham and Caroline Bingley were under arrest. After talking to one of the officers for a few minutes, Will called Elizabeth with the news. Abby, who was sleeping at the time of the arrest, woke up now. She seemed to be all right, but after Elizabeth arrived, she took her to the hospital to make sure and of course, to tell her parents and Jane.

That night, Will, Charles, Georgiana, the Millers, and the Gardiners came to the Bennets' welcome-home party. Ben, Gen, and Jane were well on their way to making a full recovery and Abby was happy, although Elizabeth looked exhausted. She was almost too tired to notice that Will was avoiding her. Almost. After the party, he kept his distance. He went back to work and hid in his office for nearly three days straight, even eating and sleeping at his desk. On the third day, Charles came over.

"So what's so urgent here that you can't take a few hours off to come to Longbourn with Georgiana and me?"

"Charles, I told you…"

"Yes, you told me that you felt partly responsible for what happened to the Bennets because of what Wickham did. That doesn't explain why you're now avoiding them like the plague. You know Elizabeth…"

"I don't think they want to see me right now, especially Elizabeth."

"What, because of Wickham? Because you didn't think everyone needed to know how traumatized your sister was because of him? What about me? Caroline's my sister. Don't you think that's just as bad, if not worse? She did this. What Jane must think of my family…" He tried to say this lightly, but his laugh sounded more nervous than he would have liked. He continued, "Come on, I know the Bennets would love to see you again, _especially Elizabeth_."

"Charles… There are some things I haven't told you."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." He took a chair and propped his feet up on Will's desk.

"Charles…why don't you just say it?"

"Say what?"

"I don't know. Maybe everything you wanted to say before you found out Jane was in the hospital."

"What? Oh. Right." He paused a moment. "Look, Will, I never blamed you for telling me to break it off. Really. I guess she is a little hard to read sometimes, and I'm sure you didn't want to hear all about yet another one of my failed relationships when it all blew up. And when I first found out you met her city, I was ticked off, yeah, but if I hadn't run away to South America, maybe you could have told me. Anyway, it doesn't matter now." He saw that Will was about to protest so he stopped rambling and deftly turned the conversation. "So…I ran away to Peru for nearly a year because of Jane. Would this have anything to do with another Bennet sister?"

Will was speechless for a few seconds. He had hoped it hadn't been that obvious. So either being in love had made him completely transparent or Charles had become extremely perceptive. So he spent the next half hour detailing everything that had happened between him and Elizabeth since they met in the city. In the end, Charles persuaded him to come with him to the Bennets'.

Will thought about a lot of things on his way to their house. He thought about what Charles had said, that Elizabeth had seemed to miss him. He thought about the apple pie Mrs. Bennet would be making. He thought about how best to get Elizabeth alone to ask her… _Oh_ _no_. He was driving past the park in Longbourn when he saw her. She was wearing a pink plaid flannel shirt and long denim skirt and was quickly walking his way. No, she didn't see him. That was probably a good thing, because she looked mad. Five seconds later, he knew why.

"Come back here this instant! I demand that you listen to me!" Will froze. Because right behind Elizabeth was none other than Catherine de Bourgh, screeching at the top of her lungs. Then, despite the fact that there was a huge bush between them and they were now completely blocked from view, Will unbuckled his seat belt and slid down as far as he possibly could. Sure, anyone who happened to pass by would think he was a stalker or something, but he had to know what was going on.

"As your grandmother, I demand you listen to me."

"Oh, are you my grandmother? I thought you cut all ties with us when you disowned my mother. You really can't have it both ways, you know."

"You…" A car alarm, a lawnmower, and a barking dog suddenly drowned out Mrs. de Bourgh's vitriolic response. When the noise died died, Will heard her say, "Who do you think you are, using your arts and allurements to steal poor Anne's fiancé?"

"What?"

"Anne is my adopted daughter. Her parents died when she was a child and I took her in out of the kindness of my heart, and _she_ has always been grateful for it, unlike _some_ people."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked skeptically. _You have a heart?_ "So why haven't we ever met her?"

"Anne is very…delicate." _I won't allow her to be corrupted by the likes of _you_._ "And she was practically engaged to William before _you_ came along." It was true. Will had the great misfortune to meet her on a few occasions and ever since, Mrs. de Bourgh had been planning their wedding. Will shuddered. Because hiding behind a well-crafted "delicate" persona, which required her to spend no more than twenty minutes a day outside her room, eat no more than three bites of food at a meal, and never speak until absolutely necessary, Anne de Bourgh was a cold, malicious con artist. At nineteen, she bore an eerie resemblance to a photo Will had seen of Mrs. Bennet as a teenager. Anyone who didn't know better would swear Anne was Catherine de Bourgh's real daughter, that the photos on the walls had stayed the same for nearly four decades, that a strange medical condition kept her forever young and beautiful, while those who had known Genevieve Miller would say she was a twisted doppelganger or a cheap imitation. Maybe Mrs. de Bourgh was truly unaware of this. Maybe she was deep in denial. Or maybe she just didn't care. But she continued, "Now, let's be reasonable here. How much do you want?"

"Excuse me?"

"From what I have seen, your family is living in a dreadful state of poverty. I have it in my power to help you, if you only promise me that you will never come anywhere near William again." She paused. "And if you should be foolish enough to refuse, you have my full assurances that I will do everything in my power to make sure he will never want anything to do with you again. You have no idea what you are dealing with."

"You're insane." Elizabeth had tried to be respectful and everything, but really, enough was enough. This woman couldn't just come barging into her house acting all paranoid, insult her family and call her a gold-digger. But a small part, a very small part of Elizabeth felt sorry for the crazy old lady she saw before her, who she suddenly noticed was trying to look twenty years younger with one too many facelifts or Botox injections and too much makeup. She obviously lived a very empty, lonely life. She was in a loveless marriage, her daughter had left her and her son soon followed suit, she believed in nothing and loved no one but herself, and now she was living vicariously through Anne. But someone had to tell her. Elizabeth continued calmly and quietly, but Will could still hear every word. "You have no right to tell me what to do or who to see. You have absolutely no right to say anything about my family, who, I'll have you know, is much happier than you are with all your money. Do what you want, but even if you succeed in spreading spiteful, malicious rumors, no one will believe you. Around here, everyone knows us, but _you_ are nobody." She continued for a few moments more, when Mrs. de Bourgh stormed off to her limo.

Will was stunned. No, he was mortified. He had known that Mrs. de Bourgh was a little off, but he hadn't thought she would go so far as to threaten Elizabeth over what she perceived as her _stealing_ him from Anne. _Stealing me? Hmm. Is this how it feels to be objectified? _Will had hoped…but no, if she had disliked him before, she would never want anything to do with him now. Because, even though Mrs. de Bourgh was a very distant relative (distant enough so he could safely imagine himself with her granddaughter), she was much closer to him than to the Bennets, and her behavior reflected poorly on him. _But wait. She didn't agree. Crazy Cat told her to stay away. All she had to do to get rid of her was agree to leave me alone. Is it possible…?_

Will could have spent hours crouched down in the front seat of his car, lost in dazed reverie, but reality came knocking in the form of his ringing cell phone. He answered without thinking and immediately regretted it when he heard the familiar screeching. Her language was so abusive of Elizabeth that it made him absolutely furious, but there was something else there. It was a smug tone of victory that might have been used by a teenage girl in a popularity contest that turned ugly. One that said,_ Who did she think she was? But I showed her who's in charge._ It was this tone which made him say in no unclear terms that he would never marry Anne because he was going to marry Elizabeth. He hung up and decided. No more hiding in his office or his car. He walked toward Elizabeth, who was standing partly hidden behind a large tree nearby. She was turned away from him, arms folded, looking as if she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

What happened next? It's obvious, isn't it? Will announced his presence. Elizabeth was surprised. She tried to thank him…but he said it was the least he could do. And he did it for _her_. She admitted trusting Wickham had been a mistake. He pointed out that she wasn't the first. She invited him to dinner. He accepted. They walked in silence. He proposed. Elizabeth did something that was very out-of-character for her and started to tear up, thinking this was just like some Hallmark movie she would never admit to liking. She said yes. He went inside and spoke to her father, because he was such a gentleman. He said yes. Everyone congratulated them. Jane and Charles first suggested a double wedding in November. They got married and lived happily ever after.

THE END!

**A/N: So, that's the end of it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added this story to their alerts and favorites. :) I'm currently working on "All About Anne" and yet another sequel to "The Giver."**


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